Dole: 'President has abdicated his responsibility'

November 12, 1995
Web posted at: 3:35 p.m. EST

Statement of Sen. Bob Dole on Sunday campaign events
Faxed to CNN on November 11

Throughout my campaign for the presidency, I have maintained
that this contest isn't about Bob Dole or Bill Clinton --
it's about America and the leadership we need going into the
next decade. In recent weeks, President Clinton has
repeatedly demonstrated that he has abdicated the
responsibility of his office to lead this nation. That
dereliction of duty has peaked in recent days as he has
played politics with the budget and so today Speaker Gingrich
and I requested a meeting with the president to try to
resolve the budget crisis.

Sadly, our request today was met with more partisan
brinkmanship. I still hope that by tomorrow the president
will come to see that America's interests must take
precedence over his personal political interests. I hope he
will put politics aside and finally shoulder some of the
obligations of his office. As always, I stand ready to work
with the president if he decides to begin good faith
discussions on the budget. To me, that is more important
than politics.

In light of these facts, I will remain here in Washington and
not attend the events I had planned in Florida. My wife,
Elizabeth, will attend and the events will go on. I hope all
will appreciate that my first obligation must be to the
historic conservative cause we are fighting for here in
Washington.